Coupling device



July 6, 1937. E, 5T, GREBLE 2,086,414

COUPLING DEVICE Original Filed March lO, 1934 W www* fluo-m44,"

Patented July 6, i937 COUPLNG DEVECE Edwin S. J. Gr

Application March 10,

Renewed December I, 1936 lil Claims.

My invention relates to coupling means and particularly such coupling as will permit of heavy tractive forces.

The invention is peculiarly adapted to the coupling of two vehicles, such as an automobile or motor vehicle and a trailer, a tractor and a gun carriageetc. It is to be understood that the invention'is not exclusively of use in these elds.

Any object of myinvention is to couple two l0 vehicles together, such coupling being substantially withoutiplay but of great flexibility.

A further'object of my invention is to devise a couplingwhich is easily and quickly locked in place or unlocked and which, when locked, will stay inl this condition with small danger of aocidental unlocking, and with all the parts Xed so that they cannot be lost or forgotten in the process of coupling or uncoupling.

Another object of the invention is to permit great freedom of movement between the vehicles which are coupled, without, however, permitting yawing or noisy play of parts.

` Stillanother object of my invention is to provide a coupling and an attachment therefor which will permit the pull through the coupling to be along the line at a desirable and adjustable height from the roadway.

,Yet another object of the invention is to pro- Vide astrong and durable coupling which is easy to repair or replace and which has few and simple parts lwhich may be easily and cheaply manufactured'.v

With these and other objects in View, which may be incident to my improvements, the invention consists in the parts and combinations to be hereinafter set forthand claimed, with the understanding that the several necessary elements comprising my'invention may be varied in construction,-proportions and arrangement, without departing Vfromthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In order .y to make my invention more clearly 3 understood, I have shown in the accompanying drawing means for carrying the same into practical effect without limiting the improvements in their useful applications to the particular constructions,which, for the purpose of explanation, have been made the subject of illustration.

In thevdrawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my device; f

vFigure 2 is a view in side elevation of the device;

`Figure is a cross sectional View taken along the line of pull between the male and female members;

Figure 4 is a view taken along line ll-l of Figure ionizing in the direction of the arrows, the unlocked position of the latch being shown in the dotted lines;

Figure 5 is a fragmental view in side elevation showing the draw bar for the device;

Figure 6 is a detail view of a modified female member for my coupling device.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown a female member l having a round aperture 2 therein. Female member l is provided with a flat base 3 having bolt holes therein through which may pass bolts li. The bolts #l are adapted to pass through bolt holes E in a draw bar 6. The draw bar 6 is bolted to one of the vehicles, for instance, the vehicle to be drawn (or trailer) by means of bolts l. By withdrawing the bolts l and tting them into other of the holes 5 the vertical distance of the coupling from the roadway can be adjusted to suit the type of pull, loads and other exigencies of operation, such as the height of the hook on the prime mover.

Adapted to fit through the hole 2 of the female member is a male member 8 having a hook 9. The hook 9 fits through the aperture 2 and, as will be noted, there may be play between the front of the hook and the side of the aperture 2. There is no play, however, between the back of the hook and the side of the aperture 2, and the hook is so curved that a ring that will just fit around its curved part may still be coupled and unc-oupled and thus give no play at all.

It will be noted that 'the female member l has a rounded section li which is adapted to ft between the back of the hook and a guide wall l2. The hook 9 is provided with a rounded point i3. Below the rounded point i3 is a flattened surface ifs which is adapted to be substantially parallel to the roadway. Abutting the flattened surface I is a surface l5 which is substantially at right angles to the surface I6. The surface l5 abuts surfaces l which are substantially at right angles to the surface l5.. This construction is readily apparent from an inspection of Figures 4 and 2.

Adapted to fit on top of the flat surface l'l of the male member 8 is a sliding latch member i8. The sliding latch member IB is provided with a slot i9 which terminates in an unlatched annular aperture 2li. The sliding latch l 8 is adapted to slide along the top surface l'! of the male member. The latch i3 is provided with a slot 2l which is adapted to nt over the wall I4 and abut against Cil the walls I and IIi of the hook I3 in the locked position. The locked position is shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

The position of the sliding latch I8 before it is slipped into place can be seen in Figure 4. The dotted line in Figure 4 shows the position of the sliding latch when it is desired to disengage the male member 3 and the female member I.

Adapted to fit in the slot IQ is a holding bolt 22 provided with a section of unlatched diameter 23 and a section of reduced diameter 24. The holding bolt 22 has a washer 25 and a nut It which holds the Washer rmly in place on the holding bolt. This Washer-nut construction acts as a head to prevent passage of the holding bolt through the unlatched annular aperture 2l] lthe slot I. The holding bolt passesy down through an aperture 2l on male member 8. The bolt 22 is provided with a flattened surface 28 which is adapted to Contact with a pin 2S that passes through the male member 8.' This pin 29 slides against flattened surface 28 and prevents rotation of the holding bolt 22 and further locks it to the assembly. The holding bolt 22 is provided with screw threads 3i at its end opposite the washer 25. The extreme end of the holding bolt has a flattened surface 32 or a cotterpin attachment.

The screw threads 3i are adapted to engage with interior screw threads formed on a hand nut 33. This hand nut structure comprises an annular compartment 31- and finger holds 35i. The top of the annular chamber 34 is adapted to bear against washer 36 which surrounds the holding bolt 22. Within the annular compartment 34 is a compression spring 3l. n

By revolving the hand nut 33 the structure may be screwed up and down on the holding bolt 22. In the position of the parts shown in Figure 3, the holding bolt occupies its uppermost position and can only be held in this position against tension of spring 3i' by the operator pressing upwardly. In this position sliding latch I8 may be moved into the position shown in Figure 4 and revolved and the male and female parts of the coupling disengaged.

To couple the parts, the male and female members are caused to assume the position shown in the first three figures of the drawing. The sliding latch I8 is moved into forward position so that its slot 2l engages the surfaces I5, It and Iii on the male member. In this position the unlatclied annular section 23 of the holding bolt 25 can pass down through aperture 2@ thus holding sliding latch I8 rmly in place. I-Iand nut 33 is then wound up into the position shown in Fig. 2 and the holding bolt 22 is retained firmly in place. In this position, should the hand nut 33 become loosened, spring 3l will take up the slack and still hold holding bolt 22 in the down position. This is a factor of safety of great importance.

It will be noted that there is great exibility of movement between the male and female members but that accidental uncoupling of these two members during use is largely minimized.

The male member e is provided with an extension 38 which has screw threads 39. This eX- tension 33 passes through an aperture in a bracket Ill which may be held by means of bolts t2 to the vehicle which furnishes the motive power. Suitable washers #i3 and nuts M hold the extension 353 of the male member 8 firmly in place on the bracket fil. A Cotter pin 45 preaoeefiie vents the nut taking the major portion of the tension strains from coming off during use.

In Figure 6 is shown a female member I which may be forged out of a bar of material. The clearance between the male and female members may be less than is shown in Figure 1. In Figure 6 the clearance between these members is shown as of considerably smaller magnitude than in the Figure 1 form.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details of construction herein set forth, by way of illustration, as it is apparent that many changes and variations may be made therein, by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention, or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a device of the characterr described, a

female member, a hook adapted to t therein, and a sliding latch having an end With a slot therein adapted to fit over the hook and under the end thereof, yand a holding member adapted to hold the latch in place and permit pivoting of the latch when disengaged from the hook.

2. In a device of the character described a female member, a hook adapted to t therein, a sliding latch having an aperture and having an end with a slot therein adapted to fit over the hook, and a holding bolt adapted to fit in the aperture in the latch to hold the latch in place.

3. In a device of the character described, a female member, a hook `adapted to t therein, a sliding latch having an end with a slot therein adapted to t over the hook, aholding member adapted to hold the latch in place and permit pivoting of the latch when disengaged from the hook and spring means to prevent such loosening of the holding member as to permit accidental displacement of the latch.

4. In a device of the character described, a female member, a hook adapted toy t therein,

a sliding latch having an end with a slot thereiny adapted to fit over the hook and under the end thereof, a holding bolt adapted to lit in an aperture in the latch to hold the latch in place and spring means to prevent such loosening of the holding bolt as to permit accidental displacement of the latch.

5. In a device of the character described, a female member, a hookadapted to fit therein, a sliding latch adapted to lit over the female member and hold the hook so that there is flexibility but small play between the parts, said latch having a slot therein for engaging the hook and a second slot therein, a holding bolt adapted to pass through the second slot in the latch, means to tighten the boltr in place, and spring means to tension the boltin place upon accidental loosening of the tightening means.

6. In a deviceA of the character described, a female member, a hook adapted to t therein, a sliding latch adapted to fit over` the female member and hold the hook, said latch having a slot therein of two widths, a holding bolt passing through the slot in the latch having two thicknesses to conform to the two Widths of slot in the latch, and means to tighten the bolt in place.

7. In a device of the character described, a female member, a hook adapted to t therein, a sliding latch adapted to t over the female member and hold the hook, said latch having a slot therein of two widths, a holding bolt passing through the slot in the latch having two thicknesses to conform to the two widths of slot in the latch, means to tighten the bolt in place, and spring means to tension the bolt in place upon accidental loosening of the tightening means by maintaining the greater thickness of the bolt in the greater width of the slot.

8. In a device of the character described, a female member, a hook adapted to fit therein having a bent-over end and a flat surface on the under side of the bent-over end, a sliding re- Volvable latch adapted to fit over the female member and between the female member and the at under surface of the bent-over end and hold f the hook so that there is ilexibility but small play between the parts, said latch having a slot in its end for engaging the hook, and means to prevent displacement of the latch once it has been placed in hook-engaging position.

9. In a device of the character described, a female member, a hook adapted to t therein 'having a bent-over end and a at surface on the under side of the bent-over end, a sliding latch adapted to t over the female member and between the female member and the flat under surface of the bent-over end and hold the hook so that there is flexibility but small play between the parts, said latch having a slot in its end for engaging the hook, a holding bolt for holding the latch means to tighten the bolt in place, and spring means to tension the bolt in place upon accidental loosening of the tightening means.

10. In a device of the character described, a female member, a hook adapted to fit therein, a sliding latch adapted to t over the female member and hold the hook, said latch having a slot in its end for engaging the hook and a second slot therein, a holding bolt adapted to pass through the second slot, said holding bolt having two thicknesses, one of which is adapted to iit in a thickened portion of said second slot and the other of which is adapted to t in a narrowed portion of said second slot, said holding bolt having a screw threaded portion, a tightening member adapted to be screwed on said portion, and a spring carried by the tightening member whereby upon accidental loosening of the tightening member the bolt will be tensioned in place.

EDWIN ST. J. GREBLE. 

